Thirty-Four and a Half Predicaments
Page 37

“Did she suspect Henry was havin’ an affair?”
“I have no idea. But I never heard rumors of it until after the fire and right before he killed himself.”
Neely Kate studied her for a moment. “Do you remember anything else that might be helpful?”
“That’s about all I know.” Miss Mildred dug around in her purse and pulled out a rectangular black box and handed it to Neely Kate. “Here.”
Neely Kate’s mouth dropped open as she took it.
She pulled out another one and pushed a button. Static came out of the box. “You suggested walkie-talkies, so I picked these up at Walmart.”
“Oh, yeah.” Neely Kate sucked in her bottom lip, trying to keep from laughing. “Good idea.”
Miss Mildred’s head bobbed. “I’ve been thinking about code names and I want to be White Tiger.”
I held back a snort.
To her credit, Neely Kate kept a straight face. “I think that’s great. We’ll come up with names for us.”
“I’ve already figured yours out for you.” The elderly woman pulled a paper out of her purse. “You can be Red Robin and that one there—” she flicked her finger toward me, “—she can be Yellow Lizard.”
“Why am I Yellow Lizard?” I asked.
Neely Kate covered her mouth to hide a chuckle.
“I think that part’s obvious.” Miss Mildred stood and used her cane to push Neely Kate’s legs out of the way. “I gotta stop by Reverend Pruitt’s office and turn in my petition demanding that he take the rock music out of his services.” She started hobbling up the aisle toward the doors. “You can report back to me tomorrow after you visit Dirk Picklebie.”
We watched her push open the door and she looked over her shoulder. “And don’t forget to keep your walkie-talkie on.”
Neely Kate let out a low whistle. “This is gonna be interesting.”
That wasn’t the word I had in mind.
Chapter Thirteen
We waited in the sanctuary for a good five minutes, waiting to stop by Jonah’s office to say hello until after Miss Mildred’s shouting stopped. We passed her in the hallway as she emerged from the office, muttering, “Why’s the bathroom so far? Those brownies kicked in sooner than usual.”
Neely Kate chuckled and leaned toward me. “So her gift was a good idea after all.”
I shuddered as we walked into Jonah’s office.
He stood in the main office, running one hand through his uncharacteristically tousled hair while holding a paper in the other with a paragraph and three signatures.
“You look like you just got run over by a bulldozer,” I said.
He shook his head and chuckled. “I think I just did.”
“I’m so sorry, Jonah.” Jessica, his secretary and now girlfriend, stood behind her desk wringing her hands, her cheeks flushed. “I tried to stop her.”
He walked over and took her hands in his. “It’s okay, Jessica. We all know Mildred is a force to be reckoned with.” His gaze landed on my friend. “It’s good to see you out and about, Neely Kate.”
“Well,” she said softly. “I’ve been helpin’ Rose with a project. We just wanted to say hello because we were in the neighborhood.”
His brow lifted. “You two keep out of trouble now, you hear?”
She flashed a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “We’ll try.” She walked out the door, and I started to follow her when Jonah called after me.
“Rose.”
I stopped and turned to look him.
“You got her to leave the house,” he said softly. “That’s wonderful.”
“Like she said, we’re working on a project.” When I saw the worry in his eyes, I held up a hand. “Don’t worry. We’re lookin’ into where Dora worked before she died, which—I might remind you—happened a full twenty-five years ago.”
His lips pressed together.
“Jonah, as you can see, Neely Kate isn’t herself, but a few times today she’s kind of forgotten what she’s been through, if only for a few minutes. We’re looking into an accidental factory fire a quarter of a century ago. How could that be dangerous?”
“A factory fire here in Henryetta?” Jessica asked, her eyebrows rose. “Atchison?”
I blinked. “Yeah.”
“My mom used to work there. She was a secretary.”
“Really? Do you think she’d talk to us about it?”
She laughed. “If you’re willing to risk it. She’ll talk your ear off about that and everything else under the sun.”
“I’m willing.” This was turning out to be easier than I’d expected.
“I’ll call her to set it up.” She winced. “She’ll insist on meeting for breakfast. She likes to combine pork products with gossip.”
“Gossip?” I asked, taken aback. Is that what this was?
She shrugged. “That’s how my mom will see it. Still interested?”
Any little piece of information we could gather would only help. “Yeah.”
“How about the four of us meet for breakfast at Merilee’s? Say eight-thirty tomorrow? I’m sure Mom will agree, but if she can’t make it, I’ll call you.”
I gave her a warm smile. “Thanks, Jessica.”
She shifted her weight, then looked down at her feet. “It’s the least I could do after you helped Jonah and me get together.”